As is the case in many other jurisdictions, Canadian drug law enforcement is heavily racialized. Data gathered from Toronto and other major Canadian cities show that Black and Indigenous people have been arrested for minor cannabis possession at rates as high as five and nine times that of whites, respectively.

Prof. Akwasi Owusu-Bempah presented a TEDx talk, The Untapped Promise of Cannabis Legalization, as part of their Mississauga series.

A lesson for the United States

Unlike the narrative now dominant among the U.S. 2020 Democratic hopefuls, Canada’s move towards legalization was never about social justice or reparations. Having promised recreational cannabis as part of his campaign platform, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government rushed to draft and pass the Cannabis Act in time to help them secure a political win.

Addressing the racialized harms of cannabis prohibition barely featured in political debates over legalization in Canada. Instead, the focus was on promoting public health and diverting profits away from the illicit market.

Given the nature of the political process, it can be all too easy for politicians to satisfy themselves with half-baked policies. If there is one thing that American lawmakers can learn from the Canadian example, it is that cannabis equity must be incorporated into legalization from the outset.

Latest.

With reports of declining insect populations worldwide, or what George Monbiot calls an “insectageddon,” there is growing concern about the health of pollinators. This in turn has led to increasing interest in urban beekeeping, pollinator gardening and urban bee advocacy. Yet there is also a growing backlash against urban honey bees.